DESIGN DISPATCH

Bonhams' Hong Kong Auction House Prepares for Opening Day, and Other News

Plus, more than 100 galleries will be represented at Frieze L.A., and COP29 forms an Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate.

Bonhams Hong Kong. Courtesy of Bonhams/MRC Photography

Bonhams’ long-awaited Hong Kong auction house prepares for its first sale on Nov. 27.

Bonhams has opened its new Hong Kong headquarters at Six Pacific Place, featuring over 19,000 square feet of gallery and salesroom space across three floors. The debut coincides with a fall auction series showcasing rare Ming dynasty furniture, works by Zhang Daqian, rare Birkins, spirits, and more, all kicking off on Nov. 27 and running until Dec. 3. 

101 galleries will headline Frieze L.A in 2025, indicating growth for the scaled-down fair.

Frieze Los Angeles will return to Santa Monica Airport in Feb. 2025, featuring 101 exhibitors in a custom tent by architect Kulapat Yantrasast. The fair will blend a mix of global heavyweights like Gagosian and Hauser & Wirth, alongside a robust lineup of Los Angeles-based galleries, with Mariane Ibrahim, Moniquemeloche, and Southern Guild all making their debuts. 

Maryam Tafakory. Courtesy of the artist.

Iranian imagemaker Maryam Tafakory ​has won this year’s Film London Jarman Award.

Maryam Tafakory won the U.K.’s 2024 Film London Jarman Award, with a jury commendation for her exploration of displacement, memory, and resistance through moving-image works. Her films, which combine post-revolutionary Iranian cinema with personal and poetic narratives, examine themes like censorship and the erasure of queer identities. 

COP29 debuted a carbon-focused Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate.

At COP29 in Azerbaijan, the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction unveiled the Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate to accelerate decarbonization in the sector. The council will guide efforts outlined in the Chaillot Declaration, emphasizing regulatory and sustainable practices.

Madame de Pompadour’s long-list gilt candle sconces have been located in London.

Four gilt-bronze wall lights believed to have been featured in Madame de Pompadour’s grand salon were discovered in a Yorkshire hotel after being misidentified for nearly 140 years. Sotheby’s traced their origins to 18th-century France, linking them to master sculptor Jacques Caffieri and the rococo style championed by Pompadour. Estimated at $1.26 million, the sconces will be auctioned in December.

The Adidas Stan Smith Lux. Courtesy of Urban Research.

Today’s attractive distractions:

Does “the world’s tiniest” wireless mic spell the future of content creation?

Behold, the timeless appeal of Rolex’s Cosmograph Daytona timepiece. 

Adidas’ new white Stan Smith Lux is really, really ridiculously good-looking

English “A.I Granny” Daisy Harris is quite good at thwarting telescammers.

 

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